Is it worth it
 

Hi,

I posted a topic about my 1st gen here https://www.rx7club.com/general-rotary-tech-support-11/13b-rotary-1984-85-rx7-gsl-se-386171/

Its has a blown rotor basically the mazda dealer said it would cost $5000 to fix
but i have a 12A that runs i was wondering if i could put the 12A into my GSL-LE if so what would i need to change...

Btw im in high school so do you think its worth to fix the car or sell it for what i can get for it probably close to nothing...

Im trying to buy a 2nd or 3rd generation but im am trying to fix what i have now...

Get one from http://rotaryresurrection.com/ and just swap it in.

You can put the 12A in but it takes some work.

It doesnt cost 5,000 to fix. The dealer is just trying to scare you away. And if they are... its probably for a good reason. Go to a deticated rotary shop.

^ agreed (with hornbm)

I say you do as hades12 said...but first rebuild and port your 12a that you have ;)

First off - dealer's don't know ANYTHING about these cars, and the WORST place that you can take an RX-7 is to the Mazda dealer...

That said, there isn't anything on your car that costs $5k to fix. You could do a complete engine swap on a 13b to your SE for less than $1k, and that includes a new engine and buying the tools to do it! Dealers are out to MAKE MONEY, and as such, they are your worst enemy when it comes to your car. They will lie, they will cheat, they will fake diagnoses, they will damage parts... avoid them.

Buying up into a Gen2 or Gen3 car is going to be a decision that only you can make. You will be buying into the same types of problems that your SE has now, and they are more advanced cars for engine computers and controls. In that regard, they are harder to work on. If you start out with your SE, you may learn a thing or two that will be valuable if you choose to buy a newer RX-7 later on. From your post, I would say that Gen 3 cars are out of your league right now - check out the Gen 3 forum, if you have time. These cars are expensive to keep, expensive to maintain, and require some serious skill to keep them running well.

The SE is the 'top-of-the-line' FB, only availabe in 84 and 85, containing all the upgrade parts that most owners are interested in; so you've already got the chassis of the Gen 1 car that you'd want to keep. A lot of members here are still shopping for the right SE, and if your car only needs a tune-up or injection work, that may be a diamond in the rough that you could get running again for cheap. Recall that dealers will lie to get you to buy a new car and trade in the one you're having maint. problems with.

How about spending some time troubleshooting the symptoms to see if it's something simple? I've been on the forum for years now, and can say that this is the best group of Gen 1 guru's out there. I would be that we can identify the problem via forum posts better and faster than your dealer can...

Wanna take that bet? Reply back...

you forgot to </rant> longduck...

But you have said it well...dealers dont know shit...especially about a car that their company manufactured about 20 years ago. In fact, im amazed that the dealer knew it had a rotary engine in it. Post back on what the symptons are like longduck said...we will put our heads together and get your 7 up an goin ;)

thanks for the replys all

well for now i want to port the 12A into the car cause i need it to get running again asap hopefully.

i'll look for the rotary specialist in the DC area.

Ill try to keep you updated as much as possible the car is being towed to my house soon its at my uncles right now.

but im pretty new to the rotary engine and the rx7, but im kinda mad 1st time i drove it, it broke down

btw

is that true?

bump

sounds right to me.

Well, that kinda sucks then whats the point of givin out $1,000 for a bad engine

longduck isint ranting, hes prolly one of the most knowledgable member of this forum and i anticipate his replys to most threads

good work longduck keep it up :bigthumb:

the 12A swap should be pretty easy other than the fuel system and the EFI electronics those are the only major concerns.
besides for 5k I'd be putting a 20B in mine!

I think he was kidding about the /rant, but I appreciate the sentiment!

I do my best to help educate the new owners here, but that first sting from the Dealership is inevitable - I went through it myself about 3 years ago when the local Mazda dealer told me my engine was bad and needed to be replaced.

I read a bit, adjusted the TPS, and it was back to 100%. At that point, I really started to learn about these cars. HTH,

so basically me 13B could be fine just needs some tuning... :)

but thanks ill post some pics and stuff once i get it back over my house

When longduck posts....ALL SE OWNERS READ ;) i would say longduck is probably THE most knowledgable person on the SE models on the forum...and shares knowledge in a clear and precise manner...

I have had PM's and emails from 1 other forum member that has under 100 posts but been lurking for YEARS...now that guy is probably jedi master level...'cept he never chimes in...strange i know :)

now if only longduck turned on his private messaging :rolleyes:

Well, that's a very nice compliment, and I appreciate it. I do my best.

Unfortunately, I'm not around in any consistent fashion to make PM work, but I keep an eye out for posts about SE's.

I've been off the boards for about 1-2 months now - got interested in other hobbies and the holidays, but am back this year in full force.

Keep those rotaries spinning,

well I just got the rx7 over my house and the last time it was running was 4 to 5 years ago
my uncle said it broke down when he was going about 55 on the high way and the rpms were slowing droping until it shut down

the 12A motor was last cranked and driven about 6-7 months ago last summer

I will be swaping the 12A into the SE after all the snow melts and other ish

so if i have any problems do you guys think you can help me threw the way? :)

thanks in advance

Yeah, I'd say that we can help you.

As with any carb-swap project, the first thing you need to change on that SE is going to be the fuel pump. An EFI pump operates at 40-50psi, and you only need 4-6psi for a carb. Using a regulator will cause your expensive EFI pump to fail quickly. Get the right pump for the job, and the rest should go fairly smoothly.

I would post new topics when you get into the swap, as this one's getting lenthy and off topic. HTH,

nice job longduck!!

ill start a new thread soon

but i saw this site rotary shack

its selling 87/88 used turbo engines for a G
http://rotaryshack.com/Engines/UsedEngines.asp

that is a T2 turbo engine?

cause i would rather just swap that in instead of the 12A